Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14
Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.
Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.
The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Malachi 3 : 1-4, 23-24
Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.
He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.
I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the day of YHVH comes, for it will be a great and terrible day. He will reconcile parents with their children, and the children with their parents, so that I may not have to curse this land when I come.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Scripture readings speak in unison in honour of the faithful servant and messenger of God, St. John the Baptist, who is the Herald of the Saviour or Messiah, as the one whom God had sent into the world to precede the coming of His Saviour Jesus Christ. St. John the Baptist has been prophesied by the prophets of old to be the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah.
He was sent into the world to prepare and to straighten the path for the Lord Jesus, as many had fallen into crooked ways and sins as they were misled by the corruptions of the world, as well as by their wicked and self-serving, corrupt and unjust leaders, the elders and the Pharisees, all those whom God had entrusted with the governance over His people but they had not done what they had been expected to do.
And it was not an easy task, as there were many challenges and difficulties that he had to encounter during his mission. He had to face opposition and stubborn resistance from the Pharisees and the elders, who refused to believe in him and in his message, which called the people of God to repent from their sinful ways. Those elders refused to believe that they were sinners because they thought that their ways were righteous and that they were worthy of God because of all the supposedly pious deeds that they had done.
In their pride, they had brought about their downfall, and also because of their greed for power, privileges and worldly possessions. They were tempted with those things and therefore became resistant towards God and His approach. In the same manner, those in power like the kings and rulers, the Sadducees who consisted of these people, also opposed the Lord and His ways, as He had revealed through St. John the Baptist.
And we all know how King Herod, the son of Herod the Great lived in an adulterous relationship with Herodias, the wife of his deceased brother Philip, an unlawful and sinful relationship. St. John the Baptist did not fear for his life or for his safety, and he openly rebuked the king for his sins. And when that resulted in his arrest, he did not fear, but constantly continued to rebuke the king for his sinful ways and in the end, met his end in martyrdom.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, St. John the Baptist is a role model for all of us Christians, for he is someone who has lived obediently in accordance with the will of God, and he obeyed His will even though it might mean suffering and troubles for himself. He did not allow the temptation of fear and selfishness to distract him from following through with the mission which had been entrusted to him, and indeed thanks to his works, many had been reconciled with God and received justification because of their faith and repentance.
All of us should emulate the examples of St. John the Baptist in our own lives. And we should also heed the examples of another saint, namely St. John of Kanty whose feast we are celebrating today. St. John of Kanty or St. John Cantius was a Polish priest and theologian who was renowned for his bright intellect and mind, as well as his numerous works in teaching the faith through his many writings, works and compilations.
And at the same time, he was well known for his great charity and love for the poor, the sick and the dying. He gave generously to them, both in terms of his time, his love and aid, and he inspired many others to do the same. He should also become our inspiration for this Christmas season, in how we ought to spend our time meaningfully and with due consideration for our fellow brothers and sisters, especially those who are in need.
Let us all not forget about the poor, the weak and all those who suffer even as we rejoice in this coming Christmas season. There are many who are unable to rejoice because of their circumstances, because they were lacking in what they even need in order to survive their daily lives. Let us share our joy with them and help them, as St. John of Kanty himself had once done, and be open to the Lord’s will and obey Him as St. John the Baptist had been, and not harden our hearts as the Pharisees and the elders had done.
May the Lord bless us all and help us in all of our endeavours, so that the true joy of Christmas may be ours, and that we may also share it with our brethren who are in need of assistance and help. May the Lord be with us all and be with them too, now and forevermore. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 1 : 57-66
When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”
They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.
A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14
Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.
Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.
The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Malachi 3 : 1-4, 23-24
Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.
He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.
I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the day of YHVH comes, for it will be a great and terrible day. He will reconcile parents with their children, and the children with their parents, so that I may not have to curse this land when I come.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, as we are approaching Christmas in two days’ time, we heard about St. John the Baptist, whose role was truly great but many of us did not realise how crucial he was to the plan of salvation. Indeed his role was less than that of our Lord Himself, the Saviour, and that of His blessed mother Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant. Yet, through the acts of this faithful, holy and devoted servant of God, the world which had for long lost its hope, heard the beautiful news of the coming of God’s salvation.
For John the Baptist was what God had promised to His people through the prophets, as He spoke of him to the prophet Isaiah as a voice proclaiming in the wilderness of the coming of God’s kingdom and His salvation, and as the messenger which God had promised who would make straight His paths when He came into this world, as the one who would initiate the beginnings of God’s work of mercy in this world.
And even though his role as the Herald of the Messiah and the King of the Universe was truly great, prestigious and incomparable in some way, but he remained humble and committed to his mission as a servant, and he refused to give in to human pride and desire, as whenever people asked him whether he was the Messiah, he rejected it and said that he was not the Messiah, but the one who would precede Him and who would proclaim Him to the world when He revealed Himself.
And in another occasion, St. John the Baptist also humbly proclaiming that he was not even worthy to untie the straps of the sandals of the Lord, and how when his disciples complained about the growing popularity of Jesus, he proclaimed openly that while He increased in might, power and popularity, he as the servant who had done what he had been tasked to do, should decrease and become less important.
From this we can learn very important lesson about ourselves, as St. John Baptist had shown us the way of the servant of God, faithful, committed and devoted to the truth that God had brought into this world. This Christmas and all of its celebrations is not about us, and it is not about how much wealth, glamour and bling that we can showcase to one another, and not about the rich foods and drinks, and all the other worldly things that we share with one another. It is truly about the Lord.
Yes, it is rather about the joy that our Lord had brought into the world, to all of us, because we who were once destined to be damned and destroyed, to suffer forever the torment and the torture of our eternal soul in hell because of our disobedience and our sins against Him, had been given a new hope of salvation and a new life which He promised to all of those who are willing to change themselves and follow Him.
Let us today, as we reflect on the examples of humility and obedience of St. John the Baptist, also reflect on what St. John of Kanty, a priest and saint whose feast we celebrate today, in what he has done in his own earthly life. St. John of Kanty was a Polish priest known also as St. John Cantius, who was renowned for his dedication and commitment to the Lord, and how he served and helped the poor around him by his many works and his charities.
He was thoroughly dedicated to the advancement of the knowledge of the divine truth, and by his long years of studies and by the many works and many manuscripts that he had written, he had inspired many people to live their lives faithfully to the Lord and to accept the fullness of truth as espoused by the Church and its teachings.
The same thing St. John Baptist had also done as what St. John of Kanty had done in his life, in proclaiming the truth of the Lord, as He was coming into the world in Jesus Christ, and thus these two devoted servants of the Lord preached the true joy of Christmas that is to come, that is our Lord, our True and only Joy. And in doing so, they remained humble and unassuming, fulfilling what had been tasked to them to do, and not taking credit upon themselves.
This is what all of us Christians should do as well, and in how we celebrate the feast of Christmas, let us all share the joy that can be found in our Lord Jesus Christ with all the peoples, especially to all those who are still living in ignorance against Him and those who have yet to hear of the Good News of His salvation. Let us all through our words, actions and deeds be the bearers of the Lord’s salvation to all of His peoples.
May Almighty God bless us all, and may He strengthen our faith always, so that this Christmas will be ever more meaningful to us, and that we may be able to celebrate it with full and complete understanding of its importance, and what it means to us and to our brethren, especially to those who did not yet know Christ our Saviour. May God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Luke 1 : 57-66
When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her.
When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”
They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised.
Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God. A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14
Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.
Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.
The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Malachi 3 : 1-4, 23-24
Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.
He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.
I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the day of YHVH comes, for it will be a great and terrible day. He will reconcile parents with their children, and the children with their parents, so that I may not have to curse this land when I come.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 